Maintaining a one-man library fulltime

Release Day Party Sunbolt

For this release day party, we’re doing something different. All tour hosts have written down a post about ‘a cause for concern’, about what they’re concerned about. Here’s a little bit about what I’m concerned about.

People don’t read anymore. Particularly children. Or if they do, they’re stuck behind their computer or eReader, reading from a screen, which is bad for your eyes. But in general, time spent reading is now replaced by time spent watching the Disney Channel or playing the newest video game. It’s easier for parents, I guess. They don’t have to tell kids what a word means, or they don’t have to help them get through a book. Put them in front of the TV or playstation, and enjoy. But parents forget how important reading is. There are still thousands of people on the planet who can’t read. Not being able to read means struggling for the rest of your life to get access to any kind of knowledge. Not being able to read is horrible. You can’t read a road sign. You have no idea what the government papers you received are all about. You have no idea how to follow a manual.

We need to teach our children how to read. And not just because of the practical matters, but also because kids who read, and who like to read, have an obvious advantage in school. It stirs the imagination, leading them to develop their creativity, a much sought-after talent in the nowadays working world.

I’m a librarian, so I notice how each year, less and less children show up at our library. It saddens me, and I wish there was something to do about it.

“A Cause for Concern” celebrates the release of Sunbolt, a YA fantasy novella by Intisar Khanani. Sunbolt tells the story of Hitomi, a young woman with a propensity to play hero when people need saving, and her nemesis, a dark mage slowly amassing power in a bid to control the Eleven Kingdoms. Stories often have an issue at their heart, however big or small, global or personal. This week offers a chance for bloggers (and readers) who love stories to share the issues that are close to their hearts. What do you wish you could change in the world?

About Sunbolt

Title: Sunbolt

Author: Intisar Khanani

Genre: YA Fantasy

The winding streets and narrow alleys of Karolene hide many secrets, and Hitomi is one of them. Orphaned at a young age, Hitomi has learned to hide her magical aptitude and who her parents really were. Most of all, she must conceal her role in the Shadow League, an underground movement working to undermine the powerful and corrupt Arch Mage Wilhelm Blackflame.

When the League gets word that Blackflame intends to detain—and execute—a leading political family, Hitomi volunteers to help the family escape. But there are more secrets at play than Hitomi’s, and much worse fates than execution. When Hitomi finds herself captured along with her charges, it will take everything she can summon to escape with her life.

Author Bio

Intisar Khanani grew up a nomad and world traveler. Born in Wisconsin, she has lived in five different states as well as in Jeddah on the coast of the Red Sea. She first remembers seeing snow on a wintry street in Zurich, Switzerland, and vaguely recollects having breakfast with the orangutans at the Singapore Zoo when she was five. She currently resides in Cincinnati, Ohio, with her husband and two young daughters. Until recently, Intisar wrote grants and developed projects to address community health with the Cincinnati Health Department, which was as close as she could get to saving the world. Now she focuses her time on her two passions: raising her family and writing fantasy. Intisar is hard at work on two new projects. The first is a companion trilogy to her debut novel Thorn, following the heroine introduced in her free short story The Bone Knife. The second project, The Sunbolt Chronicles, is a novella series following the efforts of a young mage as she strives to bring down her nemesis, a corrupt and dangerous Arch Mage who means to bring the Eleven Kingdoms under his control.

Giveaway

There’s an awesome giveaway for this release day! Check out the Rafflecopter form below to participate. Winner gets signed copies of various books (YAY), a $100 donated to a charity of their choice, and this gorgeous art print by author T.L. Shreffler:

T.L. Shreffler on her “Cause for Concern” artwork:

“My “Cause for Concern” is the steadily declining quality of our natural habitat: the earth. We have holes in the ozone layer, global warming, polluted oceans and diminishing forests. I think it is our duty as humans to nurture the earth and protect it, especially because it is in our power to do so. This piece of art represents the love and reverence that we should hold for mother earth.”

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2 thoughts on “Release Day Party Sunbolt”

Thanks so much for taking part in “A Cause for Concern” and sharing your concern over the rise of illiteracy / function illiteracy among children. I’m a huge proponent of the library (the first outing my eldest daughter had was to our local library–I think she was a month old!). I do believe that it is an effort on the parents’ part to teach not only reading but a love of reading. But I suspect that’s there’s also the added complexity of parents not loving reading themselves, or being exhausted from keeping up a two-income (or single parent) household without the support of an extended family, so that TV or video games for your kids gives you the break you so desperately need. Like you, I wish there was an easy answer. But keeping up your library and supporting the kids that come is definitely one road, and writing fun books is another 🙂

The Single Librarian

Hey! My name is Elise, and I'm a single librarian maintaining a small town library. As you can guess, I spend most my time with my nose buried in a book! This is my blog, where I review books, host guest posts and interviews and have a blast. Check out the Review Policy if you want to send a review request.

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0 stars - I really didn't like this book. Best to stay away from it.
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